Thursday, April 24, 2008

This is to show that I really do like a lot of things about xkcd. So here are my 10 favorite comics out of the first 200, in no particular order. As usual, the numbers are links to the comics themselves (no need to clutter the page with images). I'll go through the next 200 comics some night when I don't have to get up early the next day.

30 Update: Alas, it appears this joke is very very close to a joke made in Patch Adams. Apparently Dr. Adams is playing with a skeleton and has it say "Donner, Party of Five?" or some such number. This is a bit better, because there is clearly a person missing and they say they are full, but still. Grr.42555977140155 (this is my favorite of all time)161 - Update: A commenter points out that basically this comic is the same as the story at the beginning of this 2005 Wired story.169200

It's hard to imagine a time when xkcd wasn't all shitty love stories, and something like this was actually different. In fact, it's so hard to imagine that I can't do it; all I know is that a while ago, back when I was impartial, I liked this comic and even considered getting the shirt of it. But yes, I understand your surprise. Maybe I like the way he represents love visually and has his symbol interact with other mathematical symbols. Maybe.

except the comic doesn't faithfully reproduce the puzzle. he intentionally rewords it so it doesn't make any sense so he can feel smug when he has Mary Sue cut off the guy's hand for reproducing the puzzle. since the puzzle is about precise wording and everyone who is reproducing it faithfully reproduces the wording so that it actually makes sense, Randy is doing nothing but complaining about an error that he has induced.

ok, wtf? Normally I can't be bothered posting on these posts (presuming you have better things to do with your time than reply to angry rants), but I mean, c'mon, seriously? Most of these comics could be criticised pretty easily:30: This is just another of "Randy's obscure jokes" - but because you like it, it's ok.42: Yeah, ok, this one is an amusing takeoff of every single tv ad ever.55: OMFG LOOK GUYS, ANOTHER COMIC WHERE RANDY HASN'T FIGURED OUT LOVE! Or should I say 'the first comic', given that it's one of the early ones. Admittedly, I can't totally bag this one, since I only actually understand the first 4 equations. So apologies if I've missed the punchline because of that. :/59: I'm sorry, wait, how is this funny?77: Ok, yeah, good irony.140: Seriously? I mean, c'mon. You generally decry comics like this. It's basically saying "HEY LOOK, IF I COMBINE A AND B TO MAKE SOMETHING, THE ODDS ARE ONE OF THEM WILL HAVE SOME LEFT OVER!". No, not funny. Not amusing.155: How the hell is this your favourite? It's just another comic where Randy says "HEY LOOK EVERYONE, I KNOW OF SOME COMMON NERD JOKES! AND IT'S MY LIFE, SO IT'S GOT TO BE FUNNY!" If this was about a quirky relationship, then you'd have an aneurysm. But it being about Jurassic Park makes it all ok, right?161: Again, what?169: Ok, fine, I have to agree, because I love this comic :P200: Yeah, true, this isn't bad either.

Yeah, my point being that about half of these should be disliked for the same reason you dislike other comics :P

What the hell is this?

Welcome. This is a website called XKCD SUCKS which is about the webcomic xkcd and why we think it sucks. My name is Carl and I used to write about it all the time, then I stopped because I went insane, and now other people write about it all the time. I forget their names. The posts still seem to be coming regularly, but many of the structural elements - like all the stuff in this lefthand pane - are a bit outdated. What can I say? Insane, etc.

I started this site because it had been clear to me for a while that xkcd is no longer a great webcomic (though it once was). Alas, many of its fans are too caught up in the faux-nerd culture that xkcd is a part of, and can't bring themselves to admit that the comic, at this point, is terrible. While I still like a new comic on occasion, I feel that more and more of them need the Iron Finger of Mockery knowingly pointed at them. This used to be called "XKCD: Overrated", but then it fell from just being overrated to being just horrible. Thus, xkcd sucks.

Here is a comic about me that Ann made. It is my favorite thing in the world.

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